Don’t Expect Dual Wii U Gamepad Support Anytime Soon

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto says that support for two Wii U gamepads is possible, but not a current priority for the company.

In an interview with IGN, Miyamoto said, "Certainly as we've been working on Wii U, I think we're at a point where we don't feel it's realistic to expect people to purchase two GamePads yet. We're still trying to get as many people as possible to buy the system itself, and that's where our focus is right now. For the time being, two GamePad gameplay is not within our objectives in the short-term."

However, he did stress that this decision is not because of technical constraints: "From a technical standpoint, I think if we decided to pursue that, technically we would be able to and we can perform system updates that would allow for that.”

Our Take:While we’d love to have support for two gamepads for the Wii U, it’s hard to question Mr. Miyamoto’s logic – a standalone gamepad would likely retail for close to $100, making it a fairly niche item for a console that is already struggling to establish a consumer base.